That Time Was Not Our Last
by sabina.chaudri
Summary: Fairy Tail members are struggling to defeat the Demons of Tartarus. Gray has acquired a new power, but will it bring them victory? Why is Natsu feeling strange? It seems the mages have managed to win some time as they found their way out of the demon's HQ, but sooner or later they will have to return and continue their battle. Will they be able to win?... (Nalu/Gruvia/Gajevy)
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

It's amazing how one person can make you feel.

Happy.

Sad.

Annoyed.

Satisfied.

Safe.

Terrified…

Gray knew about the consequences demon particles brought on a mages body. He's seen what happened to Laxus and his crew earlier. It didn't take long for the dragon slayer and the Raijnshu's condition to escalade further. Their lungs were burning, their bodies became weak and much too sensitive, and no matter how strong they tried to stay, one by one the four of them were rendered unable to continue to battle. Fairy Tail's faithful Healer and her junior medico had eased their pain as much as they could and as fast as they could while keeping them safe on their respected sheets.

And right now Fairy Tail was back at the infirmary to lie down another friend.

Natsu and Gajeel were in the front, carrying the patient. Lucy came in next and rushed to clear the empty bed. Gray was silent. Porlyusica immediately asked them to leave the room and let her handle things in peace. Lucy knew the boys would start protesting so she dashed forward and pushed them out of the room, leaving herself. She didn't know how bad things were, but for all she cared, every minute was on the line.

This time Wendy wasn't with them so Porlyusica had to treat the patient by herself. After hearing Lucy's brief explanation of what happened, she nodded and pointed to the empty room they were now occupying.

"Can Juvia stay?", -a fragile voice asked.

The Healer turned to the source of the voice, and saw a beaten up water mage standing by the door, clothes torn, covered in dirt, her once flawless skin now covered in bruises and blood. There was a cut on her cheek.

"Please," – she barely whispered.

Gray was still silent. He was lying on the bed and Juvia's eyes were locked on the subtle movements his chest was making. It rose up slowly and even slower it went back down, and with each breath he took, she was petrified it'd be his last.

"Stay out of my way girl," – said the old woman.

Juvia merely nodded. Porlyusica's expression softened. She pointed to the built in sink at the far end in the corner of the room.

"Wash your hands and face. You're going to help me".

Juvia didn't move at first, but then, barely feeling her feet move, obliged. She was being very slow right now. Time around her was passing slowly too. She knew this feeling though. She understood where the numbness, the trembling and the salty-gray taste in her mouth were coming from.

She was afraid.

Behind the door the three mages were trying their hardest to calm down, but it seemed like the effort was only making them more anxious.

"How the fuck did he even find us in the first place?", - wondered Gajeel.

"He must've heard us. Or sensed something was wrong", - proposed Lucy.

They were in a very narrow hallway, made entirely out of dark wood. There were two windows at the end of it letting in white rays of light.

"Natsu?...Natsu," – placed a hand on his shoulder Lucy.

"Huh?"

"He's going to be alright," – she smiled at him, - "Porlyusica will take care of him."

"Yeah…" – he said absentmindedly.

"Oi, cut the crap, Salamander. Dafuq is wrong with you?"

Natsu was leaning on a wall, looking down at the ground, his eyes filled with confusion and it was obvious he was struggling to comprehend something.

"What…. was that?" – asked no one in particular Natsu.

"What are you talking about?"

"That…light? ... Did you feel it?!", - raised his voice Natsu.

"Natsu, please calm down, we are not alone here. Laxus and the rest are resting somewhere here too."

"Are you talking about that creepy-glowy tat on the ice princess's arm?", - raised a brow Gajeel

"It was black when he came in…" – noted Lucy, - "Guys?... What exactly happened back there?"...

.

.

.

**AN:** the prologue is short, but the chapters will be longer. Another multi-chapter story!

Can't wait to upload the first chapter!


	2. Chapter 1: A whim of gale

**Chapter One: A whim of gale.**

_Earlier that day:_

" *cough-cough*, I- *cough* did it….Did you see that, Granny? I did it!", - spat out the black water, trying to clear his throat Gajeel.

"That was amazing, Gajeel", - coughed out Levy, rubbing the water from her eyes.

As the water drained away, the burning stinging sensations subsided and Natsu and Lucy were able to regain their consciousness. Though Levy managed to get close enough to the two and cast air for them to breathe before it was too late, it was still very dark in the water. She was heavily disorientated but tried her hardest to swim back to Gajeel. At that point Gajeel brought the final blow, his body now the epitome of strength and hardness. A steel fist collided with the demon's shark-like jaw. A moment passed and the water began to flood away.

"*cough*, N-Natsu?" – called out Lucy to the boy lying next to her. She tried to lift her body up.

"Natsu? Are you alright?"

Lucy's arms were visibly shaking as she pushed her torso off the ground.

"Natsu?!"

"Fine", - he answered weakly and spat somewhere in front of him, "Bleh.. that stuff is disgusting."

Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief as the boy jerked up to sit and fidget with his pinkish hair, as if completely unharmed.

"He's truly amazing", - she thought to herself and started to search the room with her eyes.

"Levy-chan!", - Lucy spotted Levy and Gajeel about 12 steps to the right of her, - "Are you guys alright?!"

"Gajeel, are you okay?", - as if not sure, asked Levy.

"We're fine! No big deal", - yelled back Gajeel.

Lucy was beginning to calm down. Her heart wasn't racing anymore, and though her lungs were still burning she was slowly restoring her breath. The blond turned around to see the last member of their company laying flat on the ground, face down.

"Juvia?", - she called out, - "Juvia?"

No answer followed. Lucy couldn't see her face, but she paid close attention to her body, which apparently wasn't moving at all.

"Juvia!", - she tried once more.

The water mage was not responding.

_No._

"JUVIA!", - Lucy tried to get up so fast she slipped and fell while still on the floor.

"What's going on?!" – responded Gajeel, hearing his friend's name and the terror in the blonds voice.

"Juvia!", - this time it was Natsu. He was now up on his feet, quickly approaching the bluenette.

As soon as Natsu got close Lucy shouted:

"Is she breathing?!"

The Fire dragon slayer took a second to listen and with absolute confidence yelled back:

"Yes!"

Natsu didn't hover over Juvia, or measure her pulse, like ordinary people would do to check a heartbeat.

Once again Lucy calmed herself down, breathed out a painful sigh and relaxed on the floor to rest some more. She closed her eyes and focused on her leg, afraid of how badly it was hurt now that it had been burned and exposed to poison.

"Oi, Juvia? Can you hear me?", - slowly shook her shoulder Natsu, while leaning over.

"Salamander! What's happening over there?!", - asked Gajeel a little less worriedly after hearing that Juvia was alive.

"Shut up, iron-brain!", - retorted Natsu.

"Juvia? Oi, Juvia?", - he kept on shaking.

She wasn't responding, so Natsu decided to turn her over. Perhaps she swallowed too much water? With care he started putting his hand under her head when a gush of wind suddenly blew him back from where he was.

"You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

The sudden wave of air pushed every fairy tail member down. Natsu rolled over his head and was now covering his eyes to try and see the figure, lying flat down on his stomach.

He came from the left.

"You will not survive this battle.", - he stated simply.

"Was it… Tempesta?", - whispered Levy.

"Dammit all, there's one more here", - cursed Gajeel as he tried to make out the demon's form.

Lucy heard a crumbling sound coming somewhere from the top. She tilted her head and tried to look at the ceiling only to see some sand-colored parts weirdly becoming larger and larger and…..

"AH!", - she rolled over a couple of times and barely avoided the impact. The broken pieces of ceiling hit the floor and lifted a strong veil of dust. Tempesta stopped his doings to admire his work.

"_Such… strong… magic_", - thought Lucy while making sure she was still in one piece.

Natsu halted on the ground, his eyes as wide as they could be. He couldn't turn as it could give Tempesta an opportunity to strike, so Natsu relied on his hearing to scan the room for Lucy. Her heartbeat was 1.66 times faster; she was swallowing air heavily but appeared to be okay overall. He heard her scream and judging from what he knew, she was now separated from Gajeel and Levy by big blocks of rocks. Their positions were very disadvantageous to their opponent, he figured. Gajeel, Levy and Lucy were behind him, giant bricks between them and Natsu was in the front of that whole setting, closer to Tempesta. So to get to the others the demon would have to pass through Natsu either way, which in a sense put the three of his comrades in safety. But what made Natsu worry was the realization that he was not the closest one to the enemy.

Juvia was.

The demon turned his head to the girl that was laying a few steps away to his side. Natsu saw an opening as his opponent got distracted but before he could get up the demon declared:

"She's dead."

"_Lie_", - thought Natsu. He could hear it clearly: thump-thump-pause-thump-thump-pause-thump-thump…

Natsu dodged forward focusing the hottest flame in his fist, but the demon was faster. He fell back on his side and felt a stinging pain on the side of his elbow, then a feeling of something warm and smelly running down it.

The new jolt of wind hit the entire team again. Gajeel was covering Levy's body, careful not to crush her with his weight. He wanted to make an attempt to hit that giant ventilator as well, but it would be a head-on attack and the distance he would have to cover more than screamed that it was a stupid idea. Gajeel's only option would be a sneak attack, to somehow come from the behind or the side, but that meant leaving Levy and if one more blast of wind were to occur, she would fly off the ground, hit the rocky surface of the wall behind them and break her spine. His best option was to stay put. And he hated that.

"Damnit," – breathed out Natsu.

"You've lost one already. It's a matter of time before you follow."

"Shut up, bastard!", - yelled the dragon slayer. He knew the demon was trying to get to them, he also knew that Juvia was still alive, but hearing this punk talk about his comrade like she wasn't started a different kind of flame inside him.

"Should we have some fun before you die? Though playing with trash is a rather unpleasant game", - cocked a smile the demon.

Natsu felt something moving under his stomach. He then felt himself being lifted and realized the demon was now focusing his powers on him alone.

"What was it? Something about getting ill from unstable movements?" The demon than began to rock and wobble the petite tornado in a way that made Natsu feel like vomiting. His head was getting heavier, his stomach was tightening, and his smell was off as everything started to spin.

"Oi, Salamander! Get a hold of yourself!"

That only made it worse.

Trying to pinpoint the spot where the sound came from to give him a sense of direction made Natsu even dizzier and shortly after the demon dropped him back on the ground, Natsu started choking on air that he was throwing up.

"Natsu…", - whimpered Lucy as she heard him make hideous noises.

His eyes now watery and his mouth smeared with saliva he made another attempt to attack the demon, but this time Tempesta did not humor himself and sent the boy flying to the other side of the room.

"NATSU!" - yelled Lucy.

Just as he was about to hit the wall covered in pointy rock formations, something cold and slippery was appearing under him that began to smooth and slow him down. Natsu stopped inches from the wall, and as he put his hands on the blue-ish white substance he realized what it was.

"Ice?", - looked at it puzzled Natsu.

"Hope I didn't miss all the fun."

Lucy and Gajeel turned their heads to look at the figure standing on the top of the huge fallen pieces of the ceiling.

"Gray?!", -shouted Gajeel.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Continues on in Chapter Two: **A whim of ice.**


	3. Chapter 2: A whim of ice

**Chapter Two: A whim of ice**

"_What…When did..._" – thought to himself Gajeel.

He was looking puzzled at the ice mage that was standing above him on a pile of giant rocks that used to be part of the ceiling. Gajeel was still keeping Levy firm under his body for safety, which prevented him from joining Natsu in the battle against Tempesta. For a second he was relieved Gray was here but afterwards started questioning of how much help could the ice mage actually be. There wasn't a single undamaged part on his body and he reeked of dried-out blood. Looks like he won the fight against that man, who smelled a lot like him, but clearly victory didn't come easily.

"Did he jump down from that hole up there?"- asked no one Lucy.

The fire dragon slayer got himself off of the life-saving icy slide, cracked his neck and shot back smiling from across the room:

"Well took you long enough! I was beginning to think the clock struck twelve, ice princess!"

"Don't pretend you can tell time, flame-head", - calmly replied Gray.

"WHAT?! Well, I know it's time to kick your ass o'clock!"

"That doesn't make sense, you moron!"- joined in Gajeel.

"Who asked you?! Be quiet, and-"

"WATCH OUT!" - screamed Lucy so loud, she started coughing.

Natsu turned his head just in time to see the demon charging at him in full speed holding a clenched fist in front of him, forming a small air current. Natsu dodged to the right, and the demon's curse hit the ice, shattering the whole creation into pieces. The bright shiny icicles started falling, filling the above space with a thousand deadly daggers and a hundred glassy boulders. The demon grinned and sent a tornado to re-direct Natsu's way the ice that was supposed to be targeting him.

Natsu prepared a posture but then remembered something.

He freed his hands and screamed while running in a particular direction:

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

He swept his hands above and around himself, creating a torrent of flame that melted the ice in mid-air. He then reached his destination and added dragon's roar to make sure none of the ice was left.

While the flames were still burning Natsu knew the demon had to be blinded by the light. So he took a fraction of 2 seconds that he had before the fire cleared to check if he had ran fast enough.

He glanced behind him to look at Juvia who was still unconscious, but luckily unharmed by the rainfall of her beloved's ice. Natsu confirmed her state and prepared to face the demon with the objective of leading him towards the right corner, away from Juvia.

From where he was standing, he and Juvia were currently in the left corner and the other half of the room contained all of his friends most of whom were injured.

_"__Alright, I'll lead"_, - smirked to himself Natsu ready to dance with the demon solo.

Meanwhile, Gray was working his way down, determined to join the party. A bare twitch was passing through his right arm. Lucy couldn't see Gray properly, but Gajeel was able to make out some sort of fading black marks on his arm.

_"__Must be that damn water in my eyes."_, - thought Gajeel.

Gray didn't ask any of them if they were all right, but however strange that was on his part, in this situation hardly anyone could blame him for his lack of interest.

It might've seemed to the naked eye based on his wounds that Gray had just finished a battle and was about to join the next one, yet no one could tell that he was actually in a middle of one already.

He was focusing his breath, while fighting the internal battle between him and his newly acquired power. There was a strong flow running under his skin and his arm felt very hot. A strong sensation that pulled him in Tempesta's direction: Ice Devil's Slaying Magic. It wasn't particularly hard to find his party of friends; Gray was basically drawn to this location.

As soon as Gray's feet touched the ground's surface he dashed towards the right corner since there was a lot of space and it would be convenient to attack the demon, all the while allowing him and Natsu to surround the enemy.

However, Gray had no intention of letting Natsu assist.

"You're wasting your breath," – commented Tempesta.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The demon sighed, closed his eyes and let the fire burn around him, but the flames never touched him: yet another current of air dragged them behind.

"You are so annoying!" – screamed out Natsu as he tried to jump and hit the enemy from above, only to be sent away flying into the air.

"Ho… another one?"

Tempesta turned his attention to the bloody figure running towards him from another side and a bit disappointed sent a wave to crash the seemingly fragile figure.

_"__Steady"_, - focused his mind Gray.

A flash of white appeared and Tempesta was taken aback to see the glazing white mix, fill and swallow his curse into a solid cast.

"You're open!"

While Tempesta was gazing at the icy sculpture of his curse the dragon slayer was coming down, burning fire in his hands, ready to go for his second attempt of attacking from above. Natsu missed and hit the floor instead making a dent, as the demon darted to the side.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Zeref's creation quickly steadied himself and sent a gash of air to meet the flames. Once again the fire was sucked into the tornado and vanished behind the demon.

"A," – sucked in a breath Natsu.

"_Fuck!_" - he cursed internally as he realized that they were repositioned now in a way that made Tempesta closest to Juvia again. The fire that was sent behind the demon could've potentially reached the laying girl.

As Natsu was contemplating a maneuver that would let him lure the demon back into the right corner Gray ran passed him, black marks appearing on his arm.

"You won't get away!" - screamed Gray, - "Ice Devil's Rage!"

A blast of cold air, ice and little snow particles aimed at the demon. He tried to stop the attack with a stronger tornado, but it was consumed by the running white blizzard once more and it seemed like nothing would stop the thick blanket of white from hitting its target.

Natsu wasted 0.57 of a second taking in the scenery behind him, the ice tornado sculpture, the weird stench coming off of Gray, the newly formed attack in front of him, which would inevitably reach the demon and would cause severe damage. Damage to the demon and the….

"Gray, WAIT!", - Natsu sent a fire attack to follow the white trail, but it was too late.

The demon fell backwards and skidded on the floor closer to the water mage.

"Ice Devil's-"

"I said stop!", - hit Natsu Gray on the shoulder as he ran up to him.

"Ngah! Stay out of this Nat-"

"You'll hit Juvia!"

Gray's enraged face paused for a moment then suddenly lost its composure. He immediately turned his head to the demon, which was trying to recover and for the first time looked closely at the floor. About 20 steps away from Tempesta a girl was laying calmly, her blue hair scattered against the cold floor, and as Gray trailed his eyes along her form, the dragon slayer became mortified as he anticipated her movement.

Juvia _stirred_.

For the first time since the fight began she let out a little moan and stirred to her own doom.

"Alive?"- asked curiously Tempesta, - "Interesting…", - he grinned.

The demon rocked forward to help himself off the ground and in that moment a flash of silver painfully bit into his feet and trapped him on the floor. He looked down curiously to see his feet surrounded by a thick layer of ice, preventing him from moving. He raised his head towards the only person able to emit this type of magic and met a gaze, which paled in comparison to his own Master's, Mard Geer's.

"Don't. Even. Dare."

The Devil Slayer hit every word in a low threatening, almost growling voice. His nostrils were flaring a little, his eyes were glaring and they were opened very wide. Since Gray spotted the girl on the floor he did not blink once.

"…Very interesting,"- Tempesta added.

There was a pause in the room. A long throbbing pause that lasted merely less than a second, but it was enough to have both slayers and the demon make a crucial decision.

A small flicker in Tempesta's eyes screamed that he was about to strike her, and while Natsu was drawing in his future fire breath, Gray was already on the move.

In an instant Temepsta threw his hand in Juvia's direction, sending a raging whistling current of dusty air. Gray would never admit that freezing Tempesta's feet was an accident and he was actually trying to freeze the demon entirely. But as soon as he started forming the ice, the black marks became darker and his hand jolted in pain. Controlling this new power took more focus than he thought, so right now Gray was relying on his own magic to get in front of the tornado. He froze the floor, creating a slippery surface then used his magic to force his movement forward. He lined up with the windstorm and since he had already mastered this trick, the tempest was frozen without delay with slayer powers.

However, the demon was not to be shamed twice. Tempesta grinned and let out a devilish snicker.

"Fool," – he laughed before sending another wave, this time aiming at the ice sculpture.

Gray's heart skipped a beat then pounded somewhere in his stomach as he realized that if the sculpture breaks its pieces will fall right on top of her. His legs turned to run her way, and then it was as if he was hit with cold water. Gray's body stiffened and went numb when he heard the crash and saw glittering pieces begin to fall.

_He won't make it. _

_There's no time._

_It's over._

_He's late._

His heart ached.

_It's over…_

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Natsu didn't know what was up with this new fancy ice that overpowered the demon's curse, but he had learned that in broken pieces it melted just like regular did. He used the time that Gray pulled Tempesta's attention to get closer by running behind them then jumped up ready to melt the sculpture. By now Natsu knew all too well that sometimes Gray needs time to "_learn his lesson_", and repeating his mistakes twice wasn't something unusual for his dear frenemy. The pinkhaired boy figured that Gray would try to freeze whatever Tempesta threw Juvia's way, and it wasn't hard to guess, given what had just happened to the ice sled, what was going to happen to the new solid mass.

The ice began to melt. Natsu landed right in front of Juvia, and he was about to run forward when Gray shouted over the sizzling flames:

"Get her out of here!"

"Huh-", - was about to say Natsu.

"NOW!"

The command came with such coercion Natsu didn't hesitate for a second. He turned around, picked Juvia up and ran towards Lucy and the others. Juvia moaned a bit again as Natsu pressed her to his chest.

_"__Get her out of here, please... I'll deal with this guy."_ – sent a silent message Gray.

"Such fools".

The words drew Gray's attention and when he saw a small hurricane already going after Natsu and Juvia he had a tiny image of both of them being picked up and thrown in different locations. Juvia would probably hit the left wall, headfirst.

Gray felt blood creep up his neck and another jolt of stinging pain when he threw something to freeze the hurricane again, but the worst was about to come once he realized that the pain wasn't subsiding and moreover…

He_ missed._

Gray's attack missed the hurricane by an inch and in a matter of seconds the demon's curse hit the dragon slayer in the back, pushing him face-flat on the ground. Natsu dropped Juvia on the stone floor, and since she was much lighter and wasn't fully conscious yet the current picked her up and threw all the way back into the pile of what used to be the ceiling.

"Natsu! Juvia!", - cried out Gajeel and Levy, while Lucy was holding back tears as she saw what happened to her friends.

The sound was very muffled. Gray didn't hear the thud that echoed through the room as Juvia hit the rocks and then dropped to the floor. He didn't hear the scream that Lucy made nor the poisoned laughter of the demon. Blood was running through his ears. His heartbeat slowed down and the only thing he heard was the pulsating beats of his heart and the deep breaths he was making with his mouth.

"Are we scared already? Pathetic", - spit out Tempesta as he broke his feet free from the ice.

The room dropped about 25 degrees C.

"Hm?"

As Tempesta got up, he looked in front of himself and saw a thick ice wall quickly running from one part of the room to the other, separating the injured mages from him and….

"What are you trying to do?"

Tempesta looked at the boy but couldn't see his eyes behind his raven black fringe. The boy was standing there, with his right arm stretched out, the wall was now complete, he and the demon sealed together and the temperature kept dropping. A thin layer of frost was now appearing on their side of the room.

"Did you decide to freeze us both until we die?" – asked Tempesta, -"Humans. Always so willing to give up their miserable lives for a greater cause. I will not play this childish game. If you wish to die in a battle against me, I will give you a proper one."

Gray wasn't speaking, or even looking at the demon. The black marks on his hand seemed to become a bit lighter.

Tempesta took a step to face Gray properly.

"Behold. My true form Etherion!"

The demon grew in size, his clothes were tearing and he was breathing out horrible noises that were so loud they shook the ice wall.

Gray's tattoo was becoming lighter by the second as the demon was getting bigger.

Natsu got up to see his brother standing with the demon behind an ice wall.

_"__No. You stupid moron,"_ – he thought as he started running towards it as fast as he could.

"DIE HUMAN!"

The demon charged at Gray, shaking the ground beneath him, and in that moment he finally saw the boy's eyes: his tattoo was glowing a bright light green-ish blue color, and so were the boy's eyes…

The second the demon saw the glow, he saw no more, as the room filled with a blast of bright white light. Natsu immediately fell on the ground and covered his eyes from the light.

"What the fu-", - started Gajeel but had to turn away from the blinding light, pulling Levy closer to his chest.

"Ah," – let out Lucy and turned away covering her eyes.

A small shaking followed the light, and when the scene cleared Lucy saw quite a puzzling picture.

Natsu was on the ground.

So was Gray.

So was the demon.

The wall was shattered but there was no crash, nor were there any broken pieces lying anywhere. Lucy breathed heavily.

"What... What happened?!" – she screamed.

"Juvia!"

Gajeel got up and ran to the girl, while Levy followed closely behind.

"Juvia! Oi, Juvia! Hey, Juvia?! C'mon say something!"

He was shaking her roughly and it took a few times before she let out a painful sigh and Gajeel took a breath.

"Levy? Stay with her!"

"Gajeel, where are you going? Don't go!"

But he was already running towards the guys. He ran passed Natsu, who was getting up, and went straight to Gray.

"Oi?! The hell was that?!"

Gray was lying on his back on the ground, his eyes were closed and his tattoo was gone.

"Hey!"- angrily called Gajeel, - "Can you hear me?!"

He got down to shake the guy but as soon as he placed his hand on his shoulder, Gajeel paled.

Gray was ice cold.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

**AN:**

Continues on in Chapter 3.

I am so sorry (╥_╥)

I know it has been a Very long while since I updated but I am back now!

I don't know how to apologise enough for the wait... I saw some of you guys mentioning my absence in the reviews and I am terribly sorry for this...

I hope this chapter spiked your interest for what's about to come, and I hope you can forgive me...

I'd like to thank **Lady of the Round Table **for sharing her expectations and wishes in her review to the previous chapter. I am definitely going to have a chapter that will be screaming "Gruvia" in it! (^_^) For sure! But for the mean time here's something more subtle, and I hope it didn't disappoint...

Please, don't hesitate to contact me, I'm available almost 24/7 and I reply really fast! (^_^)

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

In case you are interested and if you have a tumblr account, I recommend following me at **chsabina . tumblr . com** since I'll most likely be posting a few illustrations for this story (^_^)


	4. Chapter 3: A little wait

**Chapter 3: A little wait. **

"Hold on!" – she said pleadingly.

"You can do it!" – spoke another voice.

Both girls were anxiously trying to support their still very fazed friend.

"Ju-… ugh, Juvia is all right", - the water mage managed to say while holding on to the girls' shoulders. Lucy and Levy were supporting Juvia on each side as they were trying to keep up with the guys.

"Oi! Hurry up, we don't have time!"

Juvia was beginning to finally see clearly and hearing Gajeel's voice sobered her up.

"Gajeel-kun?"

Juvia spotted the man's tall figure, rapidly turning his head from side to side as if he was looking for something.

"Which way now?" – she heard him say. Juvia waited for a reply but none had followed.

"OI!"

"Left…".

That was Natsu's voice.

"Are you asking me or telling me?!" – yelled Gajeel back.

Juvia gave the girls a little pat, signaling that she was now fully conscious and able to walk herself, but this situation did beg a question.

_"__Why are the girls carrying Juvia, and not Gajeel-kun?"_ – she thought.

* * *

Back in Phantom Lord she and Gajeel went on a couple of missions together, although "sent" would be a more accurate word. They never helped each other nor did they interfere in each other's fights. If one of them was in trouble, that in no way obliged the other to lend a hand. If you screwed up, you screwed up and you only had yourself to blame. If you died, you died and the other would've had to let Master Jose know what had happened. That was the silent rule in Phantom Lord that seemed to get acknowledged and accepted very fast by newcomers. And yet, with each passing mission the rule was fading more and more until finally there had been a time when Juvia found herself being carried by the Iron Dragon Slayer. He gave her a warning that, - in his words, - she shouldn't try to pull any kind of carless shit while he's around because he would have to answer to Jose, and he refused to tell Master that the Element 4 was once again incomplete. But however Gajeel put it, it was clear to Juvia that he cared. She cared too.

* * *

Juvia gave Gajeel another look and noticed that he was standing kind of strained. It appeared he was holding something heavy.

"It's left, okay! But I can't be sure!" – yelled back Natsu.

"Well you better fucking BE sure!"

"Gajeel-kun!" – called Juvia.

Both Natsu and Gajeel turned her way taken by surprise and then a look of dread crossed their faces.

"Ah, crap." – blurted out Gajeel.

He drew his lips together into a thin line and slowly turned to face her, holding a body in his hands.

Juvia instantly stopped walking and felt her stomach drop, followed by a chilling numbness in her fingers and a sharp pain in her chest. Her eyes grew large as she recognized the body. And after two-heartbeats-long pause and a few incoherent peeps, she shook and screamed:

"GRAY-SAMA!"

Lucy and Levy both grabbed onto her harder, preventing her from falling over.

"Ngh-…what-...hu-….mn..." – she was gasping for air and her heart was racing, while the girls were still holding her from running towards him. She kept her gaze focused on him.

"Shit. Shit!" – dragged out Gajeel, turning back around, shifting his hand under Gray's legs for adjustment.

"I'll knock her out", - said Natsu stepping forward.

"What? NO! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What?! You said it yourself, we don't have time!" – retorted Natsu.

"What. Is wrong with you." – asked Gajeel in a completely different tone.

"Ha?", - said Natsu in a lower voice.

"You've been acting all weird ever since we left the room. And now what? What's your plan? Punch her out so bunny girl and shrimp have to drag her?! Why can't you find the exit?!"

"WHAT HAPPENED?!",- yelled out Juvia, struggling against Lucy but not really trying to set herself free anymore.

"Juvia, please calm down" – tried to soothe her Lucy.

"Fuck", - Gajeel turned to yell over his shoulder – "He's fine! He's just out!"

"M-but…", - Juvia sighed out for another breath. She had a feeling something was wrong and what was making her even more worried was a strong arising sense that all of them were keeping something from her. She had been unconscious for too long. She missed something important.

"Juvia? Juvia," – Lucy kept trying to get her attention but she wasn't paying any.

"Juvia-chan."

Lucy placed a firm hand on her other shoulder and turned Juvia to face her, looking deep into her eyes and said:

"He's fine. He's just exhausted," – Lucy used the calmest voice she could've mastered.

Juvia took one look at her, then squinted to keep the forming tears from falling and whispered:

"You're lying."

Lucy bit her lip, and giving Juvia an apologetic look replied, her voice now breaking but still keeping it firm:

"Please, believe me for now."

* * *

"I can find the exit!" – barked back Natsu, - "We're close!"

"PUT YOUR NOSE INTO IT!" – bit back Gajeel.

"Stop it, both of you!" – stepped in Levy, - "At this rate someone will hear you!"

The boys gave each other a final glare, and stepped out in different directions. To loosen the tight atmosphere and change the topic Gajeel addressed Levy:

"Do you still have the thing?"

"You mean the blood?" – clarified Levy.

"Yeah. That." – he said uneasy.

"Yes," – she told Gajeel and then spoke more to herself, - "Can't believe he's scared of blood."

"He's not…." – said Juvia in a thin, raised, half-whispered voice. Juvia went pale. She didn't know what was going on and every minute more questions were appearing. More importantly it looked like no one intended to truly answer them.

"It's the demon's!" – quickly assured her Lucy.

The water mage raised her head and locked her gaze on Gajeel's back. Lucy barely felt Juvia take in a long breath, followed by an even longer exhale. After that she asked the blond in a very calm and slightly lower than usual voice.

"Where are we going?"

"We're getting out of here," – rushed to say Lucy.

"We're going to Porlyusica's, and this blood is for Laxus and the rest."

Juvia's eyes were half lidded and she was once again ready to let go of her blond friend and continue on her own.

"Where's the exit?" – she inquired.

"This way!" – answered her Gajeel.

The party hurried to follow Natsu who had finally gotten a trail and was now dashing to get his friends out of there and get Gray to Porlyusica. As the girls were running after them Juvia felt Levy's eyes on her.

"Juvia?" – asked Levy with caution.

"I don't want to know." – calmly replied the rain woman.

_"__Not yet",_ \- she added silently.

* * *

After the Spirit King's attack the Tartarus HQ was now in shambles. Everywhere were signs of battle and struggle but the team did not waste any time and they tried to avoid any unwanted encounter. Around a quarter of an hour later they've reached the infirmary. The cube was moving while they were still inside and after being destroyed it was scattered in large parts across one side of the town. Lucy thought that they've probably exhausted a lifetimes worth of luck by landing so close to their only safety point.

As they were getting closer Natsu joined Gajeel in carrying Gray. He was still cold, but he was breathing. Natsu kept his hearing focused on Gray's breath. He heard the shallow inhales and how they resonated against something hollow within Gray's chest. Natsu was very confused. Gray became heavier, so he pondered the possibility that Gray's insides were now completely frozen, but in that case he wouldn't have kept on breathing. Right?...

"We're almost there!" – he assured his friends.

The moment they reached the doors they busted them open and called for Porlyusica. She was furious but her anger quickly subsided as she saw the state Makarov's children were in and immediately took action. She gave Levy a book and sent her off to prepare the solution with the demon's blood according to the recipe. As Lucy started to brief the Healer in to what had happened Juvia was listening closely. She hadn't spoken a word since her last ones to Levy.

The Healer took charge, Gray was laid on the bed, Juvia was given permission to stay, and the rest were out the patient's room door. Porlyusica began her examination.

* * *

_*Present time._*

"I don't understand" – muttered Lucy,- "I don't understand at all,"- she let out a painful moan and grabbed her head, burying it between her knees.

"Who gives a shit. Whatever happened there isn't going to help him now" – pointed out Gajeel.

"Natsu?"

The fire dragon slayer was staring at the wall.

"That light…."

"We all saw it Natsu" – confirmed Lucy. She was worried, something was wrong with Natsu, and she was afraid he was beginning to loose his mind. He had been fighting battles after battles, and Lucy worried over what all this was doing to his mind. She trusted Natsu unconditionally, but she could never tell what was going through his head. He was very unpredictable and crazy at times. Just when she was about to reach for him, Natsu snapped his head up. Porlyusica finally opened the heavy door.

"Come in".

The mages were very uneasy. They looked at each other to decide who would go first, and after a few awkward glances Natsu stepped in first, followed by Lucy, followed by Gajeel, who closed the door behind him.

Gray was lying on the bed with bandages across his body. A cotton pad on his chest, already soaked with blood was showing from underneath the bandages. His arms were wrapped from wrist to shoulder, and his right arm had a thick blue material around it.

"Is it broken?" – asked Natsu.

"No," – answered the Healer in a way that made it clear she knew a lot more than she was going to say.

As Porlyusica began going over his wounds, starting from the most life-threatening one on his chest, Natsu and Lucy sat down on both sides of the bed, listening carefully.

Gajeel spotted Juvia in the far end of the room by the built in sink, washing something intensely. He slowly walked her way and made out the purple T-shirt that was being harassed by the water mages hands.

"Oi," – Gajeel stopped next to her, but she didn't respond.

He put a hand on her back and Juvia stiffened a bit in pain. Gajeel immediately pulled back remembering the hard impact she took against the ceiling rocks. She was now wearing different clothes, a black top and a long skirt with side cutouts that ended inches above the floor. Her arms were in bandages as well. There was a huge red-ish purple bruise on her right shoulder blade that stretched all the way down and hid behind her top.

"Rest," – he said calmly.

"When Gray-sama wakes up he's gonna need a clean shirt", - she replied serenely.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Stock pile. In the wardrobe."

Gajeel figured it made sense that this place would have spare clothes for patients, who came in often with their own torn to shreds in the battle.

"Why's it in blood?" – he continued.

"Ran out of towels", - she said and Gajeel noticed the quiver her hands made. He also took in the awful stench of rusty blood that was filling the room along with some medicines.

Gajeel took a look at the bed where Lucy and Natsu were carefully listening and Lucy was nodding from time to time. Natsu appeared to be more focused on Gray. He weighted a while before speaking again.

"Rest," – he said once more, and once more he was ignored.

Gajeel turned around, his back now towards Juvia. He was standing in a way that hid her from Natsu and Lucy so they couldn't see her behind his large figure.

Gajeel was facing the most difficult situation he'd encountered. The one where he was supposed to _talk_. He could stop a running train, - hell, he could eat it if he had to, - he could destroy and entire guild on his own, he could live in the mountains for all eternity with no provisions, depending solely on his hunting skills. But he could not find the right words. He wanted to say something. He knew this Juvia. The ameonna, that would always walk with a stone cold face, that would never let outsiders know her thoughts. He could only guess what being locked here in this room, with Gray barely breathing and gushing blood in all directions was doing to her. Plus, whatever Grandine over there was saying surely didn't help. He was afraid of what she was going through. He had no doubt it was killing her; he knew it hurt her. He knew she was in more pain than physical right now.

"When he wakes up," – he started, still with his back to Juvia, - "… he'll see you."

Juvia kept rubbing out the blood in soapy water.

"If he sees you looking like that," – he continued slowly and carefully added, after hearing her hands stop splashing the water, - "Don't you think he'll be worried?"

The question was left there unintended to be answered.

Juvia hung her head low, her fringe falling over her eyes, and Gajeel was still covering her from the rest of their frineds.

"I think he'll be very worried," – finished Gajeel.

There was a pause, and Gajeel felt heat forming behind him. Not actual heat, but the feeling that his friend was now shaking, and he stood there tense until he heard her spit out a silent cry trough her teeth in a strained "tch", followed by a few soundless whimpers. He did not turn to calm her, but waited until the shaking stopped and she whispered:

"Thank you, Gajeel-kun."

"Don't mention it," – he finished and stepped forward towards the bed.

* * *

Porlyusica invited Natsu, Lucy and Gajeel into another room to take care of their wounds, and to give the patient some rest. She turned to Juvia, who had now finished scrubbing out the T-shirt and was approaching them.

"You can stay."

Juvia nodded and the Healer along with her friends stepped out of the room.

"Lady's first" – invited Porlyusica Lucy to enter the room next door, leaving the boys once again in the hallway.

Juvia heard the other room's door close shut, and then muffled voices of the two dragon slayers in the hallway. After removing all water with her magic she folded the T-shirt neatly and put it on the small bedside table, then moved the chairs to the side. Slowly she sat down on the wooden floor, on her knees, and let her eyes wonder over Gray's face. It wasn't moving but his chest was rising and falling with a bit more amplitude than before, and in complete silence she was able to hear his subtle inhales.

_"__Gray-sama…"_ – she called in her head.

Juvia quietly reached out for Gray's palm and gently took it in between her own.

_"__Cold,"_ – she thought.

His hands were cold, but that was normal for an ice mage, right? The thought made something pour over her heart and she felt her cheeks getting warm.

_"__Gray-sama…"_

He was an ice mage. What a simple and very silly thought to get these feelings over. Wasn't that common knowledge?

_"__Gray-sama…."_

Maybe she was going insane..

Juvia squeezed his hand a little bit and felt stinging tears appearing and something thick creeping up her throat. Suppressing it took all her strength. She held her breath in order not to let a sound escape, and the effort echoed in a blunt pain all the way down her spine into her lower back.

"Please, be okay" – she whispered this time loud enough for only him and her to hear.

Juvia went into deep thought. Her eyes kept wondering from his face, to his chest, to his arm, and every once in a while she would take a deeper breath, and start again. A bit absent-mindedly she began to gently rub his hand. She didn't know how much time had passed but when she felt that maybe it was time to pour herself a glass of water, she felt the tiniest movement in her hands. Juvia froze in anticipation, but the next movement came from under the blanket around his left ankle. And then the most heavenly sound broke and tore hear heart in two brining both immeasurable joy and torturous pain.

Gray sighed once more, and when Juvia gave his hand another little squeeze, she felt a tiny squeeze back.

"Gray-sa-ma?" – she whispered carefully not to choke from wanting to both laugh and cry as loud as her lungs allowed her to.

_"Wait,"_ \- she told herself.

If Juvia wasn't looking so intently she would've missed the faint tilt his head made in her direction.

She squeezed his hand once more, looking if he would respond. A light quivered smile appeared on her lips when he squeezed back stronger, as they were still trying to decide whether to cry or laugh. And when she turned to look at his face again she felt a sudden punch hit her somewhere inside her chest as she met his fully opened eyes.

He was awake and fully conscious now, and he was looking right at her.

"Gray-sama?" – she asked again with a bit more voice this time.

Meanwhile behind the door a heated conversation was coming to its end.

"Do you realize that you sound like a complete psycho?! Salamander, this is bullshit!"

"I don't care how it sounds" - he replied, - "That tattoo….".

"Just wait a bit!"

Natsu turned to face Gajeel, a look of complete determination taking over his face and even posture. Green eyes met red:

"We have to get rid of it."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Continues in Chapter 4.

**AN:**

I hope this was worth the wait... It looks like I'm quite determined to update this fic weekly ^_^

A special thank you goes to **Lady of the Round Table, Yuki Loxar **and **mgaa**, who reviewed and reassured me that they've enjoyed the previous action-packed chapter! (I know it's more interesting to watch fights, than read about them, but I hope it wasn't to boring...). Another round of thank you's go to **IcePrinceRay** and **hotrodren, **whose comments made me very happy and excited to continue this story! ^_^

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me, I'm available almost 24/7 and I reply really fast! ^_^

See you next week! ^_^


	5. Chapter 4: A good person

**Chapter 4: A good person.**

It's funny how Juvia was frozen in place right now, even though it was Gray the one, who almost froze to death about an hour ago.

Porlyusica was sure that whatever happened there wouldn't have killed him, but it did seem like Gray should be careful when using his new demon slaying powers. They were dangerous on their own, but they were especially life threatening when near a demon. Porlyusica shared her suspicions with Juvia while they were alone that strong magic like this could enable Gray to create ice figures, and actually use them as vessels to transfer his consciousness. His own body though would be left uncontrolled, and if damaged, Gray might never return to his normal self, forced to forever stay a moving ice sculpture.

_"__Closest thing to Iced Shell",_ \- thought Juvia.

For the longest time it were only her and Gajeel that were able to transform their bodies into their elements. It would be wonderful if Gray-sama learned to do that as well, in his own manner. Was it a bit ridiculous to think something like that could feel like them being closer? Well no, not really. Gray-sama and Juvia were ice and water! Surely, this new trait would only strengthen that connection.

It was a thought Juvia saved for a better time. She really wanted to have that conversation with him, and maybe even assist him in practicing, but for that to happen they bought had to survive first. She will not speak of it for now, so she could have something to look forward to telling him later.

For the mean time, though, Juvia was looking at a wide-eyed Gray, who was slowly blinking away the fog in his eyes.

He breathed heavily and made a few sounds, but he wasn't moving much, only slightly wobbling his head form side to side. Juvia couldn't tell if he was just waking up, or was it too painful for him to move.

When Gray finally turned his head to the side once more and looked directly at her again, Juvia saw that he finally realized where he was, and who was sitting next to him.

"Juvia…"- he whispered with a soar throat.

Was there anyway to stop the constant painful throbbing in her chest? Juvia always wanted to live a passionate life, full of colors and emotions, but it wouldn't have been a really good dream to have had, if it ended up killing her, right?

Juvia swallowed, trying to suppress the joy and the worry, and smiling gently she said his name back, letting him know she was indeed right next to him.

"Dead,"- he said, still looking at her.

"W…What?"- Juvia softly asked, blinking in confusion a few times.

_Did he think he was dead?_

_Or maybe her?_

"He's definitely dead," – Gray said confidently.

He recalled the last moments of his battle with Tempesta, how he sealed them in the room, how easy it was to built an ice wall in an instant, how exasperatingly liberating it was to finally release the power that ached in his right arm, and how terrifyingly delicious it felt to destroy the demon at his own will.

There was no doubt about it; Tempesta was definitely gone. Gray breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that he had a way to get rid of those etherion-based-using-curses-not-magic-you-puny-humans assholes.

Juvia knew what he was thinking. She saw the faint smile on his lips; Gray was definitely feeling a little proud, but…. If killing one demon almost cost Gray his life… Can he really be expected to defeat another?

Juvia believed in Gray with all her heart, but at dangerous times like these they, as mages, had to be hopeful. Not stupid.

He didn't have to do it alone.

"Gray-sama?..."

"M…"- Gray made a sound, while closing his eyes.

Juvia opened her mouth, but didn't really know what to say. She felt asking something like "how are you feeling" was a very pointless question.

"I'm fine," – he answered her unspoken question.

Juvia slowly traveled with her eyes to his arm, wrapped up in a blue thick material.

"Really." – he assured her, and Juvia lowered her head slightly.

She was choosing her words carefully.

"The fight isn't over," – she started, -"We need to get back to Tartaros's HQ."

Gray wasn't expecting her to cut to the point so soon. But then again, nor she, nor Natsu were the subtle types, so he's kinda used to having to jump thoughts by now. And this fight was determining the fait of magic, so they didn't have time to be weak.

"We do," – he agreed.

"When we start heading there, will Gray-sama be able to walk on his own, or should Juvia help? She could let you lean on her, for support, until we get back."

He closed his eyes, and feeling his chest get warmer, tried his best to suppress a huge smile.

_"__Would you just look at her. She's not gonna ask me to stay? Tell me that I should sit this one out? Or that I did my best, and she and the others can handle the rest? She knows me too well."_

He would never admit it, but one of the reasons he loved his friends so much, was because they were awfully perceptive. It took Natsu and Erza a while to correctly start guessing his thoughts and feelings, but Juvia was definitely excelling at this game. Knowing him for the shortest time, she knew him better than he knew himself. It was so comfortable and convenient, but at the same time it was a bit awkward and frightening…

Yeah, Juvia definitely brought mixed feelings into his life. Always feeling like a kid, who's afraid of getting caught cheating…

But cheating at what? Cheating your feelings? Is it even possible to stop your heart from feeling certain things? Of course not. Just like it's impossible to will it to stop beating.

In that case, the problem is in the head, which doesn't sound any less concerning. But one of these days, Gray will have to stop himself for a moment, and just allow himself to feel. He sent a silent prayer for his passing father once more, and a whisper of gratitude to him for freeing him from the demons of the past. Gray can start moving forward now, and dealing with his feelings for the water mage will be the perfect first step. He just had to survive this fight first.

"Gray-sama?"

Gray snapped his eyes open. He must've been silent for a while, Juvia was looking slightly worried, and she was holding her hands at her chest.

Just then Gray furrowed his eyebrows and slightly shifted to her side. He was looking closely at something.

"Um, Gray-sa-"

"Your face?..." – he left the question dangling.

Juiva brought her hand to her cheek and remembered there was a rouge cut that she got form battling Keith.

"Was it from the fall?" – asked Gray.

He remembered Juvia flying towards the rocks, and how hard she fell onto them. He's surprised she didn't have any broken bones.

"Ah no… Juvia got that earlier in a fight. It will heal, and it shouldn't scar," – she tried to sound cheerful.

"Right, you stayed with Natsu, Gajeel and Lucy to fight against those bastards."

"Yes! Juvia wanted to finish quickly so she could find Gray-sama," – she beamed.

Gray chuckled slightly.

"I'm glad you didn't. It was messy out there. And…"

He wanted to say that the fight he had with his father was somewhat of a private matter, but he didn't want to talk about him yet, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, weren't there three of them when I left? I only saw that tornado one."

"Gajeel-kun defeated one."

"Oh?"

"Juvia defeated one too!" – she smiled.

"Mm." – he sounded a bit impressed, but wasn't showing too much emotion.

"Which one?"

I bet it was the one that looked like a shark. He looked like a water user too.

"Keith", - said Juvia an instantly regretted it.

"Ketih, huh," – continued Gray.

"That's a surprise. I remember fighting him, and all of my attacks just went right through him… That Keith was a nec-ro-…"

Gray trailed off, and Juvia paled, when a look of realization overtook his face.

She was watching him, unable to move or say something. He was looking at the ceiling, brows still furrowed, and he was barely mouthing something.

This was not how she wanted to tell him! Juvia screamed in her head, begging for someone to interrupt them, but what was said can't be unsaid. Not only did she not deserve to love him, she wasn't even worthy of being in the same room with him after this.

"Good job," – he simply stated.

Juvia held her breath.

Did she hear him right?

"That makes it three down…."

He was clearly trying to distract more himself than her from talking about the inevitable consequence Juvia's actions brought. And Juvia saw that clearly.

_"__You are such a good man,"_ – she thought to herself. But Juvia didn't feel like a good person at all.

"I'm liking our odds now…." – Gray kept thinking out loud, but she didn't say anything.

"We can definitely take down the rest…"

Gray was expecting her to be the nice person she always was and step in, to help him change the subject, but when he looked at her, he saw tears pouring down her face.

She wasn't sobbing and he couldn't see her eyes behind her fringe, she just sat there, hanging her head low, silently crying for the pain she caused him.

"Hey," – he called her slowly.

"Juvia…doesn't deserve to love Gray'sama anymore…"

She was speaking through her teeth, in a chocked whisper, trying hard not to shake her shoulders.

"She killed Father," – she added with more despair.

_"__He's just being nice. He's in shock. He's thinking more about the battle. He wouldn't forgive her. It was over. Maybe they could still see each other sometimes. But she had no right to love him. Or be loved by him."_

Juvia was babbling so loud in her head, she completely missed all the fidgeting sounds coming from Gray's bed, and she nearly jumped when she felt Gray press her head into the crook of his neck, and wrap his arms tightly around her back. He was facing her now, feet dangling from the bed, but Juvia was leaning so far forward she was almost falling. Gray felt how uncomfortable the position was so he forced her to get up with him, all the while keeping her pressed against him.

"Gray-sama!"

He shushed her, and Juvia heard a slight break in his voice. He was shaking a bit, he kept a really tight hold of her, and Juvia thought that he was in pain. It was too soon for him to get up, and she's the reason for that.

Juvia chocked on her gasping breath, trying to tell him to let go, get back into bed, and rest. She wouldn't be the cause of his physical pain too! She wouldn't handle that on top of everything.

"Thank you."

Just like that Juvia stopped trying to get out of his grip, and all the rambling and panic in her head subsided.

"Wh-what?" – she asked, her voice shaking.

"Thank you."

_Was he…?_

Juvia felt something fall on her shoulder, and after she felt it again she was sure.

Gray was crying too.

Somehow, hearing her say that she killed his father out loud made it real. Gray was instantly thrown back to the moment his father held him, and tears just came on their own. He wasn't able to free his father from the curse, but when he saw how happy he was in the bright glow, finally being free, after almost two decades of restless torture, he felt happy for him.

"G-gray-sama…" –Juvia said, confused by his reaction.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

What was he apologizing for? She's the one that hurt him!

Gray kept apologizing, and his legs were starting to give in, so Juvia quickly guided him to the bed, where they both sat down, still not letting go of each other.

Juvia was very confused how him comforting her suddenly turned into her comforting him. Or were they comforting one another other?

She let him pour his emotions out, while stopping her own. She couldn't cry, while he was crying. He needed someone to be there for him right now, and even if Juvia felt disgusted with herself, she would offer her shoulder for support.

Gray nuzzled in her neck, and then his head dropped lower onto her chest.

It was like he was reinforcing his thank-you's.

"You're warm…"

Once he started crying, it was hard for him to stop. He was trying to pull himself together but tears just kept on coming. When he saw how broken Juvia was with her actions, all Gray could do was reach out to her. He wasn't aching much, so getting up wasn't that difficult, and God knows Gray would crawl through the pain, if it meant helping his friend.

He wanted her to know he wasn't mad, but actually, Gray felt more like he was reaching for himself rather than for her. He was already in tears when he sat up on the bed, and with all those emotions flooding in, he felt like drowning in them. So he reached out to the one person that always brought him relief, when he was at his worst.

She helped him replace the bad memories with the good when it was Ul's death anniversary; she helped him stay together when he discovered what happened to her daughter, Ultear, and now… She helped him put an end to this entire story, and his father is at last reunited with his mother in Heaven.

He needed her to be strong for him, and he would be strong for her.

Juvia stroked his head, unable to believe that he didn't ask her to leave, but that he was still with her, and he still needed her.

_"__You're such a good person,"_ – they bought thought to themselves, - _"….I really don't deserve you."_

After a few minutes, Juvia carefully said:

"If Gray-sama isn't in too much pain, he should wash up his face, if he doesn't want Gajeel-kun and Natsu-san to see him like this," – she smiled as he pulled back.

Gray assessed himself and discovered that his arm wasn't hurting at all. His neck was a bit sore, and the wound on his chest was itching but not aching. Perhaps crying it all out helped, because all the painful sensations in his arm vanished, as if by a click.

"Yeah," – he said getting up, "wouldn't want that, now would we."

Juvia smiled and pointed him to the built-in sink in the corner of the room.

She followed him carefully, in case he needed help, still in thought, and accidently countered a particular one by saying out loud:

"But, Juvia really doesn't deserve to love Gray-sama…"

"What makes you say that?" – asked Gray, while turning on the water.

"What kind of a person would hurt the one they love like that?," – she asked, hoping she wouldn't have to fight the tears again.

_"__What kind of a father would strike his own son?"_

Gray couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

"The best kind!" – he answered, still laughing.

"Um…" – Juvia didn't know what to make of that answer.

"I'll explain later," – he waved his hand, and started washing his face.

Juvia sighed slightly and being happy with his change of mood, smiled and went to find him a clean dry towel.

Meanwhile, outside the heavy wooden door of Gray's room, Lucy stepped back in to the hallway to find the two dragon slayers glaring at each other.

"Shut it, dirt-face. I saw you squirming there, getting your ass handed to ya. You couldn't do shit against that thing!"

Gajeel was yelling, and Natsu didn't have anything to say back.

"Guys?" – asked Lucy, - "What's going on?"

"Go ahead! Tell her your brilliant plan!" – said Gajeel, pointing at Lucy.

Natsu didn't look like he was going to say anything, but even if he did, Porlyusica already called Natsu to get his wounds treated, and the dragon slayer left the hallway without saying a word.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

To be continued in** Chapter 5: Whatever it takes.**

This time it'll come faster! Please, feel free to contact me and a special thank you goes to Xx AmyLou xX , who reminded me, that this story was worth continuing. Thank you very much for your review! You made this chapter finally happen ^_^


End file.
